Card stripping apparatus



July 8, 1941- w. H. GoLDsMn-H, JR 2,248,863

CARD STRIPPING APPARATUS' Filed May v2l, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l July 8, 1941.

'w. H. GoLDsMl'rH, JR

CARD STRIPPING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 2l. 1940 July 8, 1941- w. H. GoLDsMlTH, JR y 2,248,863

CARD STRIPPING APPARATUS Filed May 21. 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Witness July 8, 1941- w. H. GOLDSMITHJR 2,248,863

CARD STRIPPING APPARATUS Filed May 21, 1940 Patented July 8, 1941 UNITED STATES P'ATENr OFFICE 2,248,863 `CARD STRIPPING APPARATUS William n. Goldsmith, Jr., Brk1ine',Mass.,as signor to Abington Textile Machinery Works, Boston, Mass., a trust of Massachusetts Application May 21,1940, serial 1\To.z .s6,401` Y 9 claims. (01.19-109) The present invention relates to improvements in card. stripping apparatus of the pneumatic type byvirtue of which the character and quality of the fibre stripped from the cards is markedly improved. This improvement in the apparatus is conveniently illustrated in connection with vacuum stripping apparatus of a portable type which may be conveniently attached to andremoved from the carding engine when desired.

I have foundY that the quality of the waste stripped from the cylinders of the card with the conventional type of traversing nozzle may be markedly improved by certain changes in the conguration of the nozzle at the mouth and particularly at the lip portion. These changes, lalthough physically slight in ,their character, nevertheless radically alter the flow characteristics of the cotton bre in process of removal, with an equally important effect upon the resulting strippings. Y Although I cannot say precisely what action takes place with the conventional type of nozzle, nevertheless it seems true that during the operation of the nozzle and the removal of fibrous waste, there is a certain tendency for the strippings during the transfer from the teeth of the cylinder into the mouth of the suction nozzle to perhaps catch and hang upon the relatively sharp angular boundaries of the mouth, and` while hanging to collect clumps, conceivably twist and then through the powerful suction become dislodged, leaving, however, bunches, twisted strings `and similarly awkward arrangements which pass to the receiver and are intermingled withthe mass oi strippings, not only tending to hold dirt and foreign matter in such a fashion that it cannot be eiectually removed, but seriously depreciating the commercial value of the strippings and their availability for reuse, in part due at least to the diculty of eectually carding or combing such strippings in the conventional operation.

I have found that by smoothing off and rounding the boundaries of the suction nozzle, generally speaking in the plane of rotation of the card, the quality of the stripped material is tremendously enhanced. It seems evident thatwith a high speed carding cylinder the principal Work devolves upon the rearmost wall oi the orifice in the direction of movement of the carding cylinder, whereas in a slow speed cylinder such as a doier, the `bulk of the improvement may result from the rounding of the advanced wall 'of the orice from the standpoint of rotation of the cylinder.

Init the illustrated embodiment of' the inven- -tion it will be noted that the two rounded walls .terminate at their Vouter edges or margins in vgenerally rounded beads, which provide smooth rounded surfaces both interiorly and exteriorly of the nozzle, and avoid sharp corners .or projections tending to catch or hold the strippings vin process of entering the nozzle mouth.

The accompanying drawings illustrate graphically so far as possible the difference in the action which takes place, in which Fig. 1 illustrates a conventional nozzle with the action which I conceive may take place during operation; Fig. 2 illustrates my new and improved nozzle where the transition of the stripping fro-m the cylinder to the suction conduit is accomplished in a smooth continued movement without any tendency for catching engagement by the mouth of the nozzle and subsequent enltanglement of the fibres one upon another; Fig. 3 is a detail illustrating a perspective view of the nozzle opening as shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective View illustrating a carding rengine equipped with attachments by which the portable type of apparatus may be connected thereto;` Fig. 5 is a detail illustrating the apparatus Ibefore connection to the carding engine; Fig. 6 is a detail-showing a section of the card with the portable stripping apparatus attached thereto; Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 before assembly of'the stripping apparatus therewith; Fig. 8 is a view illustrating a structure similar to Figfi but with the gear housing removed and before clamping the apparatus in place; Fig. 9 is a View illustratingthe Adriving connection for'theV suction nozzle; Fig. l0 is a view of the cover for the carding cylinder; and Fig. 11 is a detail illustrating the method of clamping the stripping apparatus in place.

I haveconveniently illustrated this construction in connection with a portable type of stripping equipment where a single traversing nozzle is operated across the cylinder or cylinders to be cleaned.

This application isin part acontinuation of an earlier application led by me on March 1l",

tionary nozzles extendV completely across the length of the cylinder and are automatically and successively operated to clear the card with a traversing-path. In these nozzles, as illustrated moreparticularly in Figs-.6 and l as Well as Fig'. l5, the stationary nozzles are provided at their mouths with rounded surfaces in the plane of rotation. of the card cylinder, and thus produce 1939,"Serial No. 261,266, inwhich a series of sta- 2V .caisses a smooth iiow as indicated, with no tendency to Y permit accumulation and consequent entanglement of the bres in process of removal adjacent the mouth of the nozzle or thereabouts.

Although other improvements of a mechanical nature have been embodied within this disclosure,

itis nevertheless a fact that changes and modications may be made, the size and character of the suction conduits altered, the number of nozzles increased or reduced, all without affecting substantially the improved quality resulting from the change in configuration of the nozzle mouth.`

'Ihis change to my knowledge represents the rstV alteration in the form and contour .of the nozzle mouth since the introduction of vacuum stripping many years ago. p

As shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the carding cylinder is indicated at with conventional teeth 22. 'Ihis fast-moving cylinder has a suction nozzle 24 located in close proximity thereto and with the trailing surface 26 in the direction of rotation of the cylinder rounded, as indicated, to produce the smooth continuity of flow shown in Fig. 2. This is intended to avoid the exaggerated effect as shown in Fig. 1,

Vin which the sharp corner of the trailing edge at 21 tends to catch and prevent the continuous withdrawal of cotton fibre in the conduit and to bunch and snarl it in a manner which will be familiar to those skilled in the art. It does not appear that rounding of the leading edge is necessary in the operation of cotton fibres, nor does it -appear that rounding of the side edges 30, as shown in Fig. 3, is vital to the success of this method of stripping. In operating on certain fibres such as wool, rounding of the leading edge has been found a necessary improvement. This may be due to the fact that the speed of rotation of the carding cylinder in operating on wool is much slower than the speed in operating on cotton libres.

This type of nozzle is embodied in a portable forming stripping apparatus which may be readily attached to and removed from the cardingA engine. As indicated in Fig. 4, a conventional form of carding engine is shown, having a carding cylinder 20 closed within a casing 34, and a doffer cylinder similarly enclosed by a casing 36. At opposite ends of the casing surrounding the doffer cylinder are mounted similar brackets 38, each, as shown in Fig. 7, comprising a stationary plate 4B upon which is formed a generally U-shaped bracket or bed plate 42 supporting the hub of the stripping apparatus to be hereinafter described. Fulcrumed upon this bracket at 44 is a nger lever 46 which may be retracted as shown in Fig. 8 to permit insertion of the stripping apparatus, and then dropped into place as shown in Figs. 7 and 11 to lock the apparatus in place.

This fulcrum lever is provided with a bell crank lever 5D, which is connected to an elongated cover member 52 which normally closes the slot formed in the housing 34 surrounding the carding cylinder. Upon retraction of the finger lever 46 to permit entrance and insertion of the stripping apparatus, a pin 54 attached to the bell crank lever is engaged by the lever 46 and caused to retract the connecting rod 56 in such a manner as to elevate or lift the cover 52 into the position shown in Fig. 6. In this position the suction nozzleis permitted to enter the normally covered slot inthe housing when the stripping apparatus is assembled. in place upon the brackets.

f, The stripping apparatus is shown more particularly in Fig. '5, and comprises a tube 60 eX- tending lengthwise of the cylinder, and having hub-like members 62 at opposite ends which slidingly engage at the opposite flattened surfaces 64 with similar surfaces formed on the U-shaped brackets, flanges G6 at the lower portion of the hubs holding the members in registration longitudinally. With the stripping apparatus in place, depression of the nger lever 46 locks the structure together as shown particularly in Fig. 11. The suction nozzle 24 is formed with an elongated portion which connects directly with the suction manifold 68 forming a part of a traversing head 'lll which slides upon the guide tube 60. 'I'his suction manifold may be exteriorly connected with the usual flexible suction pipe l2, as indicated in Fig. 6, which provides a continuous suction for the nozzle. Traversing movements of the nozzle and bracket 10 lengthwise of the tube upon which it rides is accomplished by an interior lead screw 14, rotating within the tube `and lprovided with a traversing groove 'I6 connected to the head through a dog '18. The pivoted dog 18, when one end of the traverse of the nozzle is reached, may be thrown out of mesh with the groove through. a fixed member which disengages it through contact with the tail 82, as will be evident to those skilled in the art.

After application and locking of the stripping device to the carding engine, the lead screw may be caused to mesh with the driving mechanism through a gear housing 84, mounted at one end carrying the driving gears 86 and 88, of which the latter meshes with the large gear 90 on the machine through the slot in the housing shown in Fig. 4. When the gear housing is elevated there is no connection between the gears, but when dropped to operative position the gear 88 meshes with the gear 90 and rotates the lead screw to cause traverse of the suction nozzle. The holding of the housing out of engagement may be readily accomplished through a iinger lever 92 `fulcrumed upon the gear housing and rotated in a manner to cause the gears to be out of mesh if so desired. This is particularly shown in Fig. 6 where the position of the lever permits meshing between the gears.

Itv will be evident that with this construction the connection is such that the opening of the ngerlever 46 to permit insertion of the portable stripping vdevice insures elevation of the cover member and insertion of the suction nozzlef. Thereafter dropping of the finger lever into locking position allows the cover to rest upon the nozzle, but prevents closure because of the insertion of the nozzle. Upon removal of the stripping apparatus the cover will drop by gravity or through appropriate spring action into its normalrclosed position as shown in Fig. 10.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a working toothed cylinder of a suction nozzle having an open mouth arranged in close proximity to the teeth of the cylinder and designed for the passage of air suction therethrough leading from the teeth of the cylinder interiorly of the nozzle, the nozzle havinga relatively smooth rounded entering surface adjacent the periphery of the cylinder to permit cotton strippings to be drawn from the cylinder teeth into the length of the nozzle smoothly and continuously without catching or tearing.

2. The combination with a working toothed cylinder of a suction nozzle having an open mouth arranged in close proximity'to the teeth of the cylinder and designed for the passage of air suction therethrough leading from the teeth of the cylinder interiorly of the nozzle, the nozzle having a non-circular section and provided with a rounded entering surface upon the following edge in the direction of rotation of the cylinder to permit the movement of cotton strippings thereover smoothly and continuously without catching or entanglement.

3. The combination with a Working toothed cylinder of a suction nozzle having an open mouth arranged in close proximity to the teeth oi the cylinder and designed for the passage of air suction therethrough leading from the teeth of the cylinder interiorly of the nozzle, the nozzle having a lower or trailing edge extending transversely to the path of rotation of the cylinder and provided with a smooth rounded entering surface to permit the air-borne cotton strippings to be drawn thereover without catching or entanglement.

4. The combination with a Working toothed' cylinder of a suction nozzle having an open mouth arranged in close proximity to the teeth of the cylinder and designed for the passage or air suction therethrough leading from the teeth of the cylinder interiorly of the nozzle, the nozzle having a lower or trailing edge merging into a smooth rounded entering surface and forming the entrance to an air trunk free from restrictions to catch or entangle air-borne cotton strippings entering the nozzle.

5. 'I'he combination with a working toothed cylinder of a suction nozzle having an open mouth arranged in close proximity to the teeth of the cylinder and designed for the passage of air suction therethrough leading from the teeth of the cylinder interiorly of the nozzle, the nozzle having a rectangular section with open mouth presented in proximity to the toothed cylinder and with one edge rounded and merging into a rounded entrance surface which permits Withdrawal of the air-borne strippings without catching or entanglement.

6. Pneumatic stripping apparatus designed for use in conjunction with toothed card cylinders having la closure thereabouuwith a hinged cover in the closure surrounding a toothed cylinder, supporting brackets stationarily mounted upon the carding apparatus, a portable suction stripping device designed to engage with the stationary brackets, a nozzle extending from the suction device, and means for insuring that the cover is open prior to insertion of the portable stripping device Within the supporting brackets.

7. Pneumatic stripping apparatus designed for use in conjunction with toothed card.' cylinders having a closure thereabout, with a hinged cover in the closure surrounding a toothed cylinder, supporting brackets stationarily mounted upon the carding apparatus, a portable suction stripping device designed to engage with the stationary brackets, a nozzle extending from the suction device, means for insuring. that `the cover is open prior to insertion of the portable stripping device within the supporting brackets, means for traversing the suction nozzle, and means for operatively connecting the traverse mechanism to insure movement of the nozzle.

8. Pneumatic stripping apparatus, comprising stationary supports, a hinged cover, a locking lever upon one of the stationary supports, connections between the locking lever and hinged cover designed to insure that retraction of the locking lever opens the cover, and a portable stripping device designed for insertion and mounting. in the stationary supports.V

9. The combination with carding apparatus having toothed carding cylinders and closures surrounding the cylinders of stationary supports mounted upon one of the closures, a cover in the second closure, a hinged lever upon one of the supports, connections between the lever and cover member, a portable stripping device having a nozzle and traversing mechanism, the device being adapted for Ainsertion and mounting in the supports, means for locking the device in place, and means for operatively connecting the traversing mechanism with the carding apparatus t0 operate the same.

WlLLIAM H. GOLDSMITH, J R. 

